Year In Review: Cityhood efforts stall; leaders won't give up

Cityhood proponents in Menifee and Wildomar were hit with a
major setback last year when a change in the state budget
threatened to take away millions in funding —— money vital for the
survival of new cities.

However, residents leading the incorporation efforts say they
refuse to admit defeat and will work harder than ever to wrest
control of their communities from the hands of county
officials.

Many residents in these growing rural areas long have wanted
their independence, and have toiled to collect petition signatures
and wade through county red tape to bring the issue before
voters.

It seemed as if the movements were, well, moving along, until a
little noticed effect of the 2004-05 state budget legislation
threatened to stop the cityhood quests in their tracks.

New cities rely on vehicle license fees from the state for a
large portion of their income. State officials decided to reduce
the amount of fees cities receive, but then cushion the blow by
replacing the funding with property taxes. New cities were left out
of the equation, and without the needed revenue to finance
fledgling municipal governments.

The news came at a crucial point in Menifee's push for cityhood.
Members of the Menifee Valley Incorporation Committee and other
residents spent almost a year collecting signatures and were making
progress in their quest to put the issue on the ballot.

Although the results of a financial study that will determine
whether Menifee can become a city have not yet been announced,
proponents believed the data would be favorable to their cause.

The leaders of Menifee's cityhood effort, and leaders from
incorporation efforts around the state, now say it will be almost
impossible to afford their independence without the state funding
they expected to receive.

A feasibility study was also in the works in Wildomar, where
residents were hoping the results would show the community could
stand on its own, thereby fending off an attempt by the city of
Murrieta to annex part of it.

Now, both groups say they are intent on getting around this
obstacle by pushing for a legislative fix.

Marc Miller, president of the Menifee Valley Incorporation
Committee, said the groups are talking with legislators who may
sponsor a bill that would correct the funding inequity, and also
are banding together with several other communities trying to
incorporate in California to hire a lobbyist.

"(A fix) is needed not only for areas that are trying to become
cities now, but for communities who may want to incorporate in the
future," Miller said, adding he is hopeful an emergency measure
will pass.

At least one legislator has expressed interest in sponsoring
such a bill. Assemblyman Russ Bogh recently said his staff is
working on a bill he hoped to introduce in the next legislative
session in February.